Binsar Pakpahan

Horas! (traditional Batak greetings equivalent to peace be with you)

This would be a place where I can share, reflect, comment, argue, and say things about life and how to live life at its fullest. You are free to comment. Please feel at home here!

I have received some complaints about the heavy access to this site. Therefore I have changed the theme of the site and you will notice some small changes here and there. The most significant change is on the pages. I have deleted all the sub-pages such as ‘on theology’ and ‘flammers paradise’ and put them inside the home page instead. I also put all the video from youtube in the full page of the thread - this means you have to click ‘continue reading‘ to see the video. Thank you for your feedbacks. I hope that it would be easier to access this blog now.Enjoy reading and please do leave your comments … Have a great day everyone!

Disclaimer: Although most of the things here were written because they really happened, they are not necessarily happened to me unless I put them under the category “about me”. Some of the articles were written because of the stories that others told me, my imagination, friend’s requests, emails, etc.

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What is it?

“Pyaar dosti he, Love is friendship.” This is Rahul Khanna’s philosophy on love. He thinks that if one can’t be his best friend then he can’t be in love with her. He says, “Without friendship there’s no love.”

Those were some lines taken from the movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH). I was enchanted by this movie since the first time I saw it. Since then, I’ve seen the movie for like 20 times, and I just saw it again tonight. The movie was a best hit in 1998 in India and grabbed 8 awards in Filmfare Festival, some of which are best movie, best actor, and best actress. It made Rs. 500,000,000 (US$ 12,600,000) in India alone.

What is so interesting about this movie? I think the movie has a deep philosophical exploration on what love is all about. I was deeply moved by the movie. At first I thought I was just being crazy about those silly Bollywood movies who have typical characteristics. First, they always say their important words in english, like: “I love you”, “go away”, “i dont think so”, “will you marry me”, “you’re beautiful”, etc. Second, in a single movie, you will get views of other cities in Europe, such as London, Geneva, Brussel, etc. Third, no matter how remote they went, they always have other singers and dancers in matching clothes with them singing out of nowhere. Oh, and one more thing, there will always trees in a Bollywood movie, followed by either crying or singing.

However, KKHH is different. Its a movie of love, wide range of emotions, music, dancing, family, and life. It even has a good example of how God is the same for Hindus and Moslem. Little Anjali was praying in Hindu and Moslem way. And God answers her prayer. Isn’t it interesting?

Continue Reading»

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Dalam perbincangan dengan rekan mahasiswa ketika masih kuliah dulu, mereka mengeluh karena menjadi semakin jarang beribadah semenjak masuk STT Jakarta. Hati mereka menjadi guncang ketika sepertinya harus menentukan apakah mereka akan menjadi teolog atau pendeta. Entah pilihan ini sedang jadi trend atau bukan, kebimbangan ini dirasakan justru sesudah masuk STT. “Toh, STT Jakarta kan berfungsi melahirkan teolog, bukan pendeta” katanya. Sepertinya STT Jakarta berfungsi mencetak pemikir-pemikir tangguh dalam bidang teologi (baca: teolog), dan gerejalah yang mencetak pendeta. Pameo yang berkembang kemudian adalah, kita bisa belajar teologi tanpa mengimaninya. Teologi adalah ilmu, jadi kita tidak perlu menjadi seorang yang percaya untuk dapat mempelajarinya. Pertanyaan utamanya adalah apakah teologi dan iman bisa dipisahkan? Apakah seorang bisa menjadi teolog tanpa mengimaninya? Ini adalah sebuah perdebatan sepanjang masa yang masih hangat sampai saat ini.

Apakah teologi itu? Banyak definisi tentang teologi. A. van de Beek, professor sistematika asal Belanda mengatakan bahwa teologi adalah menceritakan kembali bagaimana Allah bisa menyentuh hati manusia. Teologi tidak bercerita tentang apa yang engkau lakukan, melainkan bercerita tentang apa yang telah terjadi dan apa yang menyebabkan hal itu terjadi. Kita adalah subyek dari kalimat pasif Allah. Apakah yang disebut orang percaya? Menjadi percaya berarti telah disentuh oleh Allah, mengubah sikap dan gaya hidup menjadi hidup yang takut akan Allah, dan terbuka atas segala hal yang terjadi di sekeliling kita. Menceritakan bagaimana Allah menyentuh manusia mengandaikan bahwa kita juga percaya dan sudah disentuh oleh kisah itu. Kita tidak dapat menceritakan kisah Allah yang telah menyentuh kecuali kita juga telah disentuh.

Seorang teolog juga harus terbuka terhadap hal-hal yang datang kepada dirinya. Dia harus memiliki sensitifitas yang tinggi terhadap segala sesuatu. Karena keterbukaannya, seorang teolog juga akan menjadi rentan. Sikap terbuka dan rentan ini diperlukan untuk menjaga kekritisan kita terhadap hal-hal di sekitar.

Seseorang yang tidak percaya juga bisa mempelajari cerita-cerita mengenai kasih Allah ini. Namun ketika dia tidak percaya, yang dia lakukan hanya mempelajari tentang ceritanya, belajar latar belakang cerita tersebut, mengenali sejarahnya, tanpa membiarkan cerita itu menyentuhnya. Dia tidak belajar mengenai bagaimana Allah bisa menyentuh orang-orang yang menceritakan kisahnya di dalam Alkitab, karena dia sendiri tidak pernah mengalaminya.

Alkitab adalah sumber utama untuk menjadi seorang teolog. Membaca Alkitab adalah hal yang paling utama yang harus dilakukan seorang teolog. Luther dan Calvin adalah tokoh reformator yang berusaha menekankan hal ini dengan lebih banyak mengacu kepada sumber Alkitab dalam tulisan-tulisan mereka. Firman Allah harus menyentuh pembacanya, karena Alkitab adalah kitab yang dapat membaca kita. Kesadaran akan konteks penulisan dan pengembangan Alkitab itu juga penting untuk mendapatkan makna yang sesungguhnya dari cerita tersebut. Alkitab bukanlah rumusan moral atau etika, melainkan cerita dan kesaksian orang-orang percaya mengenai perjumpaannya dengan Allah. Kesaksian di dalam Alkitab harus didialogkan dengan konteks kita, pengalaman kita sendiri, dan dengan seluruh tradisi orang-orang percaya. Sebuah jaringan hermeneutis dalam menafsir dibutuhkan untuk mengerti apa yang hendak dikatakan oleh teks tersebut. Continue Reading»

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This is the page dedicated to you, your jokes, your comments, and of course mine as well hehehe

See the contents on the sub-pages below the ‘page’ box on the right –>

I give you this first joke as a start, source: unknown author

PERHATIAN…bagi yang ga kuat, silahkan cari ember….
bisa muntah lohhh

(Di kereta…)
Cowok : Mbak jangan pegangan sama besi kereta..
Cewek : Emang kenapa..?
Cowok : Kayaknya besinya kotor tuh.. pegangan sama aku aja… )

Cowok: Maaf mba, jangan terlalu lama duduk dikursiitu, pindah dideket saya aja
Cewek: Loh?? kenapa??
Cowok: Takut dikerubung semut.. soalnya mba manis..

Cowok : Mbak, orang tuanya pengrajin bantal ya..?
Cewek : Hah..!!!? bukan..Emang kenapa..?
Cowok : kok kalo deket sama mbak rasanya nyaman yach..

Cowok : Mbak jangan ngomong ya..
Cewek : Lho.. emang kenapa..?
Cowok : Karena biasanya aku malemnya enggak bisa tidur.. kalo abis denger suara dari bibir yang indah…

Cowok : Mbak bajunya enggak pernah disetrika ya..?
Cewek : Enak aja… emang kenapa..?
Cowok : biasanya kalo cewek udah cantik enggak perlu lagi nyetrika baju.. Continue Reading»

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This page shall be dedicated to host my opinions on life and love.

Let me start with a little story of how my opinion on how love comes grew:

1. First I thought love will come when you are cool, can drive a car, ride a big motorbike, play one of the sports, play musical instruments, sing, and smart as well.
2. Then I considered love as a gift. If you have one, its a gift and you should cherish it. I thought I was the object and love is the subject.
3. Again I shifted, I was thinking about love as an agreement. If you had the agreement, you can develop your love to your partner. If the agreement fails, then love will fade away.
4. After that I consider love as work. You should work on your love and not to take it as it is. You should work on your love to make things going. You will feel tired, bored, upset, but that’s just a small part of the package of happiness, laugh, self-improvement, and a mutual partner for yourself.
5. Now I am still learning. I am starting to think that pure love is an unconditional love. If you can love someone or something without hoping to receive something back then you have found what true love is all about.

As you can see, my opinion on love grows. This does not mean that the later opinion is more correct than the previous ones. I started by thinking that love is something that will be given to you, now I am thinking that you should not expect something back. Its a life learn process, and I can still change in the future.

7 July 2007

I think I need to add something on that list. A friend told me that instead of building my life around the person whom I love, why don’t I build something together to the future. I could argue her opinion but I think she has a point as well. So here goes number 6.

6. Love should be built towards a new goal in life, together, without forsaking yours or hers (maybe, I’m not 100% sure).

7. I think love works in a funny way sometimes, even in a weird situation where you least expected. The most difficult things is to be able to hold back your feelings when you know that love is not possible to go on but you can’t deny your heart and still you want to have it. IT SUCKS BIG TIME!

updated 18th September 2007

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I love AC Milan! I love them since 1988 during the Dutch trio era: Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkard. The club was established since 1899, and has ruled Europe soccer for the last two decades. They are the Europe Champions by defeating Liverpool 2-1 in Athens last May 2007.

The video showed below is one of their best moments during the 2006-2007 Champions League Campaign against Manchester United at San Siro, Milan. I will never forget that evening when they outrun the ‘media-claimed best team in Europe’ by 3-0. Milan lost in the away campaign at Old Trafford by 2-3 and paid their dues at home. MU was simply outclassed and tactically defeated. Wonderful play was displayed by the Rossonerri and the fans. It was such a great moment to see.

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Well, since I love travelling that much.. so I decided to have a “wish-to-visit” list on my account so I know what kind of places that I’ve never been and that I would like to travel next…. ok, here we go:

Domestic Travel: Ambon, Poso, Pontianak, Singkawang, Kupang, Komodo Island, Nias, Aceh, Balikpapan, and last but not least: Manado.

International Travel: San Siro stadion in Milan, South Africa, New York, New Zealand, Liverpool, Barcelona, Frankfurt, one of the Nordic countries, Sao Paulo or Buenos Aires, Transylvania, Bangkok, Manila, and last but not least: Boston (again… )

7 July 2007

Need to add some more on the international travel list: London, Nottingham, Praha, Cairo, India, and removing Boston from the list hehehe

18 September 2007

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T: Siapa yang paling bego, superman atau batman?
J: Batman, soalnya udah punya sayap tapi masih beli mobil.

T:Siapa yang paling bego, batman atau robin?
J: Robin. Soalnya udah tau batman bego, tapi masih diikut-ikutin.

T: Siapa yang paling pede, batman, superman, robin, atau spiderman?
J: superman. soalnya udah pake kolor di luar tapi dia nggak pake topeng, pedenya pasti paling gede tuh….

T: kenapa batman sama batgirl nggak jadian?
J: karena nggak jodoh.

T: kalau batman, robin, spiderman, sama superman ke warteg, siapa yang bayar?
J: spiderman, soalnya dia lagi ulang tahun.

T: siapa yang lebih punya pengetahuan musik lebih gede, batman atau superman?
J: batman. soalnya di mobilnya kan ada radio.

T: superman sama gatotkaca, siapa yang lebih banyak memakai uang?
J: gatotkaca. soalnya dia harus merawat kumis, manicure dan pedicure.

T: kenapa gatotkaca nggak pake sepatu?
J: karena duitnya udah habis buat manicure dan pedicure.

T: kalau superman pilih liburan, dia pilih gunung atau pantai?
J: pantai. soalnya tinggal buka baju, kan udah pake kolor.

T: siapa yang lebih sering minum jamu, superman, batman atau robin?
J: superman. soalnya batman dan robin kan naik mobil. superman terbang, jadi banyak minum jamu tolak angin biar nggak masuk angin.

T: siapa yang punya kesempatan besar buat jadi gubernur antara Superman, Batman, Spiderman, dan Robin?
J: Batman, soalnya cuma Bruce Wayne yang punya duit, yang lain kerja serabutan!

T: kenapa bima kuku yang panjangnya di jempol?
J: kalo di telunjuk susah ngupilnya.

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What Kind of Girl Will You Fall For?
	You will fall for the cutie. You like girls with a personality. She’s got to have a nice smile and a sense of humor. Although she doesn’t have to be a model, she has to be that girl-next-door.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Harry Potter Character Are You?
	You are Harry. You’re a loyal and courageous friend. You’d do anything to protect the people you love, especially if it’ll get you a break from class for a little while.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Hogwarts House Would You Be In?
	The Sorting Hat would put you in Gryffindor. You are bold, passionate, and brave. You have a highly-defined sense of right and wrong, and you are not afraid to speak your mind or fight for what you want.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Springfield Resident Are You?
	You are Apu. On the outside you are kind and a hard worker, but you lead a deceptively simple life. Though your cleverness might be underappreciated, you never miss an opportunity to sneak ahead in life.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

What City Should You Live In?
	You should live in Los Angeles. You are snarky, headstrong, and will step on toes to get where you want. It takes a certain type of confidence to make it in sunny L.A., and you may have what it takes!
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Famous Artist Are You?
	You are part Leonardo da Vinci. You are the “Renaissance man” and you live to be productive. Great at everything you put your mind to, you have great passion and drive. But of all qualities, your curiosity is your best trait.
	You are part Ansel Adams. Your artistic tool of choice is the camera, but you’ve got lots of other skills as well. Spoiled when you were young, you grew up to be a loving person and you have a deep affinity for nature and all things black and white.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

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rating blog… untuk segala umur hahaha

lumayan, tes iq hampir bener semua, cuma salah 2 bo hehehe…

and this is how much my body is worth… (padahal gw overweight hahahahhaa)
$5375.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth. From Mingle2 - Free Online Dating

not very good in spelling…

I Scored a 87%!

and in case of a zombie apocalypse, I only have 49% of survival
49%

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

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I bought a new camera Canon Powershot S3-IS in Boston, and loving it ever since. I kinda knew that I had this passion on photography since high school but never had the will to give it a go. Now, with my new camera (amateur camera) I can fulfil this long forgotten hobby… Here are some of my pictures at Flickr. Well, not all of these pictures were taken by my new camera, others than pictures in Boston were taken with different digital camera. Continue Reading»

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When you pray about someone you feel very close to them. There is this connection in a prayer that I can’t explain that gives you peace and sometimes I literally smile while mentioning them.

I remember:

• my home (beloved dad, beloved mom, darta, iyut, kak jernih)
• VU (Eddy, Bram, Annette)
• My brother Szaszi and Minnette
• Okke and Cathy
• Saskia and Ephraim
• Jakarta Theological Seminary
• optimis (with some specific names mentioned: hendra for his late father, henry for being ordained, bill, ray, ronald, cliff, yudi, kak dolfien, delsi, yola, ameng, nanik, yuli, budiman)
• HKBP (my church)
• My vicar colleagues (some names mentioned: asas, sandra, adon, lamria, kabul, fayed, eva, fera)
• Crossroads International Church (and custodian team member Maarten, Anya, Jeffrey, Ben, George, Matthias, Alex)
• Leony,
• Samantha,
• Vita,
• Batak Community in the Netherlands (kak Marianna, kak Novi, Bang Hamra, Tante Tina)
• Uilenstede Community (Romo Sunu, Enade (plus Emy), Hariadi, Grace, Boro, Lia, Mbak Yayah, Mbak Maya, Amien, Agung, Wiby, Anton, Tutu)
• Bebas (Mel, Rhein, Renaldo, Joop, Harris, Heri)
• IYF Team Indonesia (among names mentioned: Husnul, Apep, Umam, Wazeen, Arief, Lusi, Joan, Favor, Mubasyir)
• Deborah Stolbova
• HKBP Salemba
• IofC Netherlands for Caux (Hennie, Johannes, Maria)
• PGI Jakarta (among names mentioned: pak yewangoe, pak kumala, amang gomar, frengki, pak tus, tante susan, mbak endang, eppoy, markus, ibu tio, mas waryanto, kak yudieth, bang barus, tante sherly)
• other names: Sherly, fadil, inez, tasya, dodo, kitin, vita, huda, awen, ochay, bambang, silo, ko Joas, kak ester, fitri, mian, putri, kak esti, anak sekolah minggu, kak susan, keluarga alm. Pdt Sitohang, nunut, amang Sekjen pdt Simarmata dan keluarga, amang sekum pgi Pdt. Richard Daulay dan keluarga, mas nanta, ompung jourlin, maruli, keluarga pdt Manullang siantar, olsa, Marcia (who is sick now), juita, kak nursanna, mas hendra (plus mbak yani dan anaknya) di blanda, tante nieke, keluarga om Verry, keluarga anton westerlaken, ibu bep, pak jusak, kak ester, novel, kak agustinus, sally siregar, intan (selecta), silvi, oppie, etta
• names i forgot to mention…

updated on October 13th 2007.

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The scripture is the message about God. It is not of God because it is actually a story about God. It is a story telling about the relation between God and human. It tells the story of relation and confession about God rather than a precise historical event. Relation has something to do with love and events. The event of God’s revelation that took place in the past must be told to the next generations.

One cannot make a stress on different relation, objectivities, and events. It is far more complicated than talking about the other. It is also not more than an information of God, telling about God in such a way that He Himself present to us. Therefore, there has to be truth, not in a scientific way, but that it is really happens. However, the truth as such does not mean that the Bible is book of ethics or some sort of a historical book. The Bible is not the book of ethics. Ethics and religion is not the same. Looking at the Bible as a book of ethic is a reduction of the meaning of the Bible itself. The Bible must be read precisely the same way with how the first congregation read the bible, which is the paradigm of story telling about the mighty acts of God. Continue Reading»

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Ethnicity and religion are recognized as an immensely powerful basis of collective identity. However, religion is often – if not say always – excluded from social science on collective identity, also vice versa, church ignored sociology as well. As powerful basis of identity, religion and ethnicity are intertwined. These two factors have been influencing one another, therefore it is important to find what is the primary unifying element the two of them: is it religion or ethnicity.

Three models can be used to explain ethnicity and its relation with religion. First, primordialism and universalism: where ethnicity was a priori category, a primordial feature that identified and defined the social group. Religion was part of the identity. It is deep within people and it established their ethnic affiliation and identity no matter what the external realities may be. Religion is a stable, conservative, and traditional social force that keeps ethnic group members true to the ordained order of being. Second, circumstantialism/instrumentalism and particularism: where ethnicity is a variable that depends upon particular circumstances and interactions. People define ethnic identity themselves in response to unique interests, goals, and agendas. Ethnic identity may change as well when interests change. Ethnic groups is not a fixed things, they are formed without shape and content. It is a dynamic process, not a stable given. Religion is not a cause of identity. It is an aspect of the social system. The last one tries to combine them dialectically, which is constructivism: where in the constructivist approach there are two facets to expressions of ethnicity: 1. the primordial: ethnic identity is expressed in terms of cultural features which are said to be ancient and perceived to be a priori charactheristics by which its members define the group in distinction to other groups. 2. circumstantial: an ethnic identity is expressed in varying intensity through the interactions of the group and its members with neighboring groups as individuals are mobilized in response to issues which focus group in opposition. Continue Reading»

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Alkisah ada rapat para setan, iblis, jin, kuntilanak, serta para makhluk halus dari seluruh penjuru dunia. Mereka sedang melaksanakan konferensi tahunannya memutuskan cara terbaik untuk menggoda manusia. Setan dari Belanda mengusulkan untuk menggoda manusia dengan kekayaan. Katanya, “Lihat semua negara-negara maju itu, semua menjadi tidak percaya pada Tuhan lagi setelah semua kebutuhan mereka dipenuhi dengan harta berlimpah!” Seorang pakar penggoda manusia dari Amerika Serikat menolak pandangan ini, dia berdalih “Saya rasa tidak ada yang lebih jahat dari manusia yang merasa berkuasa karena mereka pasti akan menyalahgunakan kekuasaannya.” Pandangan inovatif ini cukup diterima oleh akal setan-setan lainnya. Tiba-tiba seorang setan senior berkata, “Saya rasa dua usul sebelumnya memang jitu, tetapi salah satu kunci paling penting dalam dunia goda menggoda adalah dengan memberikan manusia pengetahuan. Dengan pengetahuan mereka akan merasa dapat melakukan segalanya, meraih kekuasaan juga mencari kekayaan, sehingga mereka pasti tidak dapat mengontrol pengetahuan mereka sendiri.” Continue Reading»

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The topic of evolution and anthropology started with the reading of Genesis 1 and note down some possible tensions between the message of this chapter and the general scientific knowledge and theories of the origin, development an essence of universe, the earth, life and especially the human. Herman Bavinck says that we have to chose between the two: “The antithesis cannot be sharper: Adam the image of gorilla and chimpanzee or the image of God.” The question then is, can we develop a worldview in which there is a fruitful dialogue between notions from Christian theological anthropology and from a scientific theory of evolution? What is the relation of science and religion?

Naturalism tries to explain everything that everything happens for a reason. It is not excluding God’s existence, it is only excluding that God relates in such a way to the world of phenomena, that he is the reason beyond all things. Naturalism cannot explain all. There are feelings that cannot be ‘explained away’ (compare this to Anton Houtepen’s emotion theses). Since the phenomena in the world revoke the thoughts of God, they refer back to God.

The theses to combine both view is to sharpen ‘the natural eye’ through studying various science for explaining phenomena, and ‘the religious eye’ through studying Holy Scripture/theology, and learn to coordinate both eyes (as it is in a binocular system), so that we can see depth in reality. Naturalist point of view must realize that there are things that cannot be explained in a natural way. Science should recognize its own limits, that there is a higher intelligence above our own. If science cannot believe that a watch that is to be found in a virgin forest of the Amazon is there by itself without any cause, then how can they believe that the whole universe, which is more complicated than the watch that was founded in the Amazon, happens without a cause – or more precisely without a reason? There has to be something mightier than the human’s mind.

The text of creation in Genesis 1 tells the story of God’s action. God is the Creator of the world. This does not imply that the text should be literally understood. It is true that God created the world, and human as the image of God. This has something to do with the ethical life of human, that they are bound to the Creator. It is God’s will that the world is as it is now. This does not exclude that science cannot explain bits by bits of the process. However, we can only recognize the purpose of events, and why it happens, through the will of God. Science cannot explain this divine purpose.

I see the two of them complement each other. Science can only explain how an event happens, but never explain the reason of why it happens. Science can help man to understand how great is God’s power. He is even greater than we ever think about. When science explains how things are happening, that does not exclude God from their framework. God is the cause.

Science and religion are like two different things that on different levels. You can’t compare science and religion. Science can only explain things that are explainable. This however does not close the possibility that there are things that exist but cannot be explained by science (they will say cannot yet). Let us take an example of acupuncture. Acupuncture is a traditional way medical treatment that has been proven effective but still cannot be used by western standard of medical science. This shows that there are things that can be seen, proven, but cannot logically explained by science, but this does not mean that it does not exist. Religion on the other hand are trying to explain experience which sometimes cannot be explained by science logic because they were not on the same level in the first place. Again, this is only my opinion, you can have yours too.

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This cover of Tempo Magazine edition 4-10 February 2008 depicts the late former president Soeharto having dinner with his six children in the same composition as Da Vinci’s painting. Apparently there’s a Angkatan Muda Pemuda Kristen (The Alliance of Christian Students and Youths) group that did not agree with the intention of the magazine. They thought that the cover is a blasphemous act against Christian symbols that was originally potrayed by Leonardo da Vinci in this Last Supper picture. The group demanded that Tempo shall publicly apologize and asked the Press Council to punish the magazine. Marselius Simarmata, a spokeperson for the group said, “We want the law enforcers to withdraw copies of the magazine from shelves nation-wide for hurting the Christian and Catholic communities.”

‘        Toriq Hadad, the executive editor of Tempo magazine publicly apologize to Christian community and hopes that the matter would be considered over. He said that the magazine has no intention to insult any religion with the picture. Tempo executive editor Wahyu Muryadi said he hoped to settle the case through dialog or, if the protesters were not satisfied, through mediation with the Press Council.”We had no intention of insulting the Christian community, but we can not stop any group that wants to take legal measures against us. Tempo has consistently upheld freedom of religion,” Wahyu said.

‘        In response to the lawsuit, Benny Susetyo of the Indonesian Conference of Bishops said the country’s Catholic leaders were calling on the public not to blow the cover out of proportion. “The Catholic hierarchy considers the case settled following Tempo’s apology,” he said.He added the legal measures did not necessarily represent the desires of the Christian community in the country.

‘        Now let us analyze the lawsuit. In my opinion the move to put lawsuit on Tempo magazine is totally ridiculous. Why would you suit someone who change Leonardo da Vinci’s picture on the Last Supper with the reason that they have insult Christianity? If anyone should be offended, it should be the da Vinci’s right representative for being violated on his intellectual rights. There’s no connection whatsoever that the picture insults Christianity. It is art. It pictures what da Vinci thought about the Lord Supper, which is in fact not correct. The Jewish community at Jesus time did not have table for dinner. They would sit on the floor and have a waist low table made out of stone or wood. So the picture was an interpretation of what happened during the Lord Supper. Someone then decided to change the picture with Soeharto and his 6 children. Has the picture became a very important symbol of Christ that it can’t be touched for any cause other than Christian’s?

‘        I would say that the decision on charging a lawsuit over this case is more of a trend rather than the feeling of being insulted. Lawsuit based on religious blasphemy is quite a trend lately in Indonesia. People think that they should defend their religion and God. Tempo magazine said, “Over the last few years, religious blasphemy charges in the country have commonly been leveled at Islamic sects or individuals regarded as “heretical” by mainstream religious groups.”

‘        So why do you defend your religion? What is your basic argument to defend it. If your basic argument is God, then I have some news for you. God did not create religion. God gives God’s grace, love, and commandments, and human reacted to it. As a form of their response towards God’s love, human thanked God and try to create the best way that they thought would be the best way to honor God. Religion is an organized institution of people who respond to God’s calling in their life. A blasphemous act towards religion is actually an attack against human response towards God’s love and not necessarily against God. God does not need our defense. If God is not powerful enough to defend him/herself, then I don’t see any use for us to worship God.

‘        Thus, let us become wiser and think about our actions, especially if we give religious reasons for our actions. The picture on Tempo Magazine cover did not hurt Christianity. If anyone claimed that it did, then they should put it as an insult towards their group that considered the Last Supper picture as a symbol of what their group thinks as a religious symbol. There, I’ve said it.

Read some other comments on Jakarta Post here

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Turtle Swims from Papua to Oregon

Talk about sheer persistence! This turtle swims from Papua to Oregon in 647 days. Compare that to some of my friends who would complain after a 2 hours walk. The turtle was tracked by the satellite until the transmitter battery dies after 12,774 miles of journey.

This is the link to the full article

Rotterdam residents have shorter life expectancy

I would not want to live in Rotterdam right now. A recent study by Erasmus Medical Centre shows that Rotterdam residents have a life span 18 months shorter than the rest of the Dutch.  The report shows that the cause was, “There are relatively more smokers in Rotterdam and the concentration of particulate matter in the air is 13 percent higher than elsewhere in the country. The lower educational and income levels also play a significant role.”

Click Here for the article at expatica

Man lived with corpse for years

Here is another shocking story about a man who live with a corpse on his sofa for more than five years in a Bristol flat. The remains was finally found after neighbors complained about the smell. But this was after five years. Where have they been? Allan Derrick (in his 70s), the person who lived with the remains of Denis Pring, suffers a mental health problem.

Click here for news from BBC

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This is what I came up with hahaha

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